According to AARP, over 70% of the wealth in this country is controlled by seniors. That statistic alone is more than enough reason for senior citizens to be targeted by scammers. In fact, while most crime victims fall in the 18-35 year old age bracket, the victims of the scammers are disproportionately senior citizens. Scams targeting senior citizens generally spike during the summer months.

Some of the most common scams include the “grandparent” scam, the “lottery scam”, and the “utility” scam. In the grandparent scam, the con artist typically calls a senior and tricks them into providing personal information by saying something like “Hi Grandma, this is your favorite grandson”. When Grandma responds with “Hi Tony” (freely supplying a grandchild’s name) the con artist then claims to be that grandchild and lets Grandma know he needs cash for some sort of emergency while swearing Grandma to secrecy so his parents won’t find out. Scammers prey on the grandparent’s fear that their grandchild may be in trouble and needs help. In the lottery scam, the scammer informs the senior that they’ve won a foreign lottery. They then request money to be wired to cover taxes and fees. In addition, the scammer may ask for banking information in order to supposedly direct deposit the winnings. Foreign lotteries are illegal and this scam steals a person’s identity and allows access to personal finances. According to the Better Business Bureau, over $100 million dollars is scammed from unsuspecting “winners” on a yearly basis. In the utility scam, a caller pretends to be from one of the local utility companies and claim there’s a past due amount. They demand immediate payment to prevent a service shut off and require the payment be made through a Western Union MoneyGram. These scams and others like them have cost senior citizens over 2.9 billion dollars a year. This figure will certainly rise as more an more baby boomers reach their senior years and the pool of available victims grows.

The best defense against scammers is knowledge. With that in mind, the Better Business Bureau will now be producing a series of videos with reenactments of scams that target seniors. The videos will include alerts and information on how to recognize the signs of a particular scam. The first video reenacts the “lottery” scam and can be viewed on BBB’s Facebook page at Facebook.com/bbb1936. When it comes to senior scams, knowledge definitely is power. Please share your thoughts below and visit us at http://www.trilliumhomecare.com